형용사 [Adjectives]
We're going to look at adjectives in this post. First of all, please have a look at the two tables below,
which are similar to the way the 'nouns' were presented in the previous post, Nouns - Present, Past.
As I've mentioned before in Nouns - Present, Past, there are two primary forms in which Korean is
used, the written and spoken forms.
•The written form is used in literature such as books, newspapers and any form of writing
that is not 'conversational.' The written form, in essence, is literary, factual and declarative. It
is rarely used in normal everyday conversations. However, the news on TV uses this written
form of Korean. It is also used in public speeches. The reason is probably due to the fact that
the news and public announcements or speeches are usually all declarative and/or factual.
•The spoken form is the usual way in which people speak and have a conversation. It is used
in all types of spoken Korean such as normal conversations, dramas, and movies, with the
possible exceptions of news, documentaries and other factual, formal types of programs on
TV and radio.
Please also note that there are two ways of expressing negatives, for example, 좋다 means 'good'
and 많다 means 'many', and they can be expressed in the negative form in the following two ways:
1. Take 다 off the present tense of an adjective, and attach 지 않다 (or 지 않아 for the spoken
form).
The Written Form
• 좋지 않다 = not good
• 많지 않다 = not many
The Spoken Form
• 좋지 않아 = not good
• 많지 않아 = not many
2. Attach 안 to the present tense of an adjective.
The Written Form
• 안좋다 = not good
• 안많다 = not many
The Spoken Form
• 안좋아 = not good
• 안많아 = not many
Below are the two tables showing the informal written and spoken forms of the adjective, 빠르다.
(Please read Adjectives - Polite for polite forms)
Please note that the words in bold indicate which of the two negatives are more common in each
form, i.e. 빠르지 않다 is more commonly used than 안 빠르다 in the written form whereas 안 빨
라 is more commonly used than 빠르지 않아 in the spoken form.
Informal
Written
Form
Present Past
Positive 빠르다 빨랐다
Negative 빠르지 않다
안 빠르다
빠르지 않았다
안 빨랐다
Informal
Spoken
Form
Present Past
Positive 빨라 빨랐어
Negative 빠르지 않아
안 빨라
빠르지 않았어
안 빨랐어
Here are the meanings of the different forms of an adjective, 빠르다.
• 빠르다 = fast
• 빠르지 않다/ 안 빠르다 = not fast
• 빨랐다 = was/were fast
• 빠르지 않았다/ 안 빨랐다 = was/were not fast
• 빨라 = fast
• 빠르지 않아/ 안 빨라 = not fast
• 빨랐어 = was/were fast
• 빠르지 않았어/ 안 빨랐어 = was/were not fast
The List of Common Adjectives
Present Past
Positive Written Spoken Written Spoken
High 높다 높아 높았다 높았어
Low 낮다 낮아 낮았다 낮았어
Big 크다 커 컸다 컸어
60
Small (size) 작다 작아 작았다 작았어
Spacious 넓다 넓어 넓었다 넓었어
Cramped 좁다 좁아 좁았다 좁았어
Many 많다 많아 많았다 많았어
Small
(quantity)
적다 적어 적었다 적었어
Kind 착하다 착해 착했다 착했어
Fast 빠르다 빨라 빨랐다 빨랐어
Slow 느리다 느려 느렸다 느렸어
Easy 쉽다 쉬워 쉬웠다 쉬웠어
Difficult 어렵다 어려워 어려웠다 어려웠어
Interesting 재미있다 재미있어 재미있었다 재미있었어
New 새롭다 새로워 새로웠다 새로웠어
Hot (tangible) 뜨겁다 뜨거워 뜨거웠다 뜨거웠어
Cold (tangible) 차갑다 차가워 차가웠다 차가웠어
Warm 따뜻하다 따뜻해 따뜻했다 따뜻했어
Cool 시원하다 시원해 시원했다 시원했어
Wonderful 굉장하다 굉장해 굉장했다 굉장했어
Beautiful 아름답다 아름다워 아름다웠다 아름다웠어
Honest 솔직하다 솔직해 솔직했다 솔직했어
Lovely 사랑스럽다 사랑스러워 사랑스러웠다 사랑스러웠어
Humble 겸손하다 겸손해 겸손했다 겸손했어
The following are the rules for the conjugation of adjectives:
I) Present (Written) → Past (Written)
1. For adjectives whose last character contain a final consonant, add 았 or 었.
• 았 for the vowels, ㅏ and ㅗ
• 었 for the vowels, ㅓ, ㅜ, ㅡ and ㅣ
E.g.
• → 얇다 얇았다 = was thin
• → 높다 높았다 = was high
• → 적다 적었다 = was small (quantity)
• → 굵다 굵었다 = was thick
• → 가늘다 가늘었다 = was thin
• → 재미있다 재미있었다 = was interesting/fun
Note: The rules 2 to 6 override the rule 1.
2. For adjectives whose last character is 하, it changes to 했.
E.g.
• → 착하다 착했다 = was kind
• → 따뜻하다 따뜻했다 = was warm
• → 시원하다 시원했다 = was cool
• → 신기하다 신기했다 = was amazing
• → 굉장하다 굉장했다 = was wonderful
3. For adjectives whose last character contain ㅂ as a final consonant, take it off and add 웠다.
(Except for 좁다 which changes to 좁았다)
E.g.
• → 아름답다 아름다웠다 = was beautiful
• → 뜨겁다 뜨거웠다 = was hot (tangible)
• → 차갑 차가웠다 = was cold (tangible)
• → 춥다 추웠다 = was cold (feeling)
4. For adjectives whose last character contain no final consonant and the vowel, ㅡ, take it off
and add ㅓ,ㅆ.
E.g.
• → 크다 컸다 = was big
• → 예쁘다 예뻤다 = was pretty
However, when the vowel before the last character is ㅏ, then ㅏ, ㅆ can be used instead.
• → 아프 아팠다/ 아펐다 = was sick (illness)
• → 나쁘다 나빴다/ 나뻤다 = was bad
Also, in the case of 르 as the last character, ㄹ, 랐 is used.
• → 빠르다 빨랐다 = was fast
5. For adjectives whose last character contain the vowel, ㅣ, take it off and add ㅕ, ㅆ.
E.g.
• → 느리다 느렸다 = was slow
• → 잘생기다 잘생겼다 = was handsome/good-looking
• → 못생기다 못생겼다 = was ugly
6. For adjectives whose last character contains ㅏ as a vowel and ㅎ as a final consonant, they
change to ㅐ and ㅆ, i.e. 앟 changes to 앴.
E.g.
• → 빨갛다 빨갰다 = was red
• → 노랗 노랬다 = was yellow
• → 파랗다 파랬다 = was blue
II) Present (Written) → Present (Spoken)
First of all, take 다 off adjectives and then:
1. For adjectives whose last character contain a final consonant, add 아 or 어.
• 아 for the vowels, ㅏ and ㅗ
• 어 for the vowels, ㅓ, ㅜ, ㅡ and ㅣ
E.g.
• → 작다 작아 = small (size)
• → 높다 높아 = high
• → 적다 적어 = small (quantity)
• → 굵다 굵어 = thick
• → 가늘다 가늘어 = thin
• → 재미있다 재미있어 = interesting/fun
2. For adjectives whose last character is 하, it changes to 해.
E.g.
• → 지루하다 지루해 = boring
• → 시원하다 시원해 = cool
• → 겸손하다 겸손해 = humble
• → 신기하다 신기해 = amazing
3. For adjectives whose last character contain ㅂ as a final consonant, take it off and add 워.
(Except for 좁다 which changes to 좁았다)
E.g.
• → 춥다 추워 = cold (feeling)
• → 어렵다 어려워 = difficult
• → 뜨겁다 뜨거워 = hot (tangible)
• → 사랑스럽 사랑스러워 = lovely
4. For adjectives whose last character contain ㅡ as a vowel and no final consonant, change ㅡ
to ㅓ. (Exceptions, 빠르다 which changes to 빨라, and 배고프다 to 배고파)
E.g.
• → 크다 커 = big/large
• → 예쁘다 예뻐 = pretty
However, when the vowel before the last character is ㅏ, then ㅡ can be changed to ㅏ instead.
• → 아프 아파/ 아퍼 = sick (illness)
• → 나쁘다 나빠/ 나뻐 = bad
5. For adjectives whose last character contain ㅣ as a vowel and no final consonant, change ㅣ
to ㅕ.
E.g.
• → 느리다 느려 = slow
• → 잘생기다 잘생겨 = handsome/good-looking
• → 못생기다 못생겨 = ugly
6. For adjectives whose last character contains ㅏ as a vowel and ㅎ as a final consonant, ㅏ is
changed to ㅐ, and ㅎ is taken off. (i.e. 앟다 is changed to 애)
E.g.
• → 빨갛다 빨개 = red
• → 노랗 노래 = yellow
• → 파랗다 파래 = blue
III) Past (Written) → Past (Spoken)
Simply change 다 to 어.
• → 컸다 컸어 = was big/large
• → 높았다 높았어 = was high
• → 느렸다 느렸어 = was slow
• → 빨갰 빨갰어 = was red
• → 따뜻했다 따뜻했어 = was warm (both tangibility and feeling)
• → 뜨거웠다 뜨거웠어 = was hot (tangible)
Adjectives - Polite [Present, Past]
Polite Form
In the previous post, Adjectives - Present, Past, we learned to distinguish between
the written and spoken forms of Korean. In addition to it, we're going to further distinguish
between the polite and informal forms in Korean.
What are the difference between the informal and polite forms?
•Informal - Generally speaking, the informal form is used among people of the same age or
to people who are younger by older people. It is also used by people who are closely related
such as such family members and relatives. People who are close friends would use this
form depending on the familiarity and acceptability.
•Polite - The polite form is used when speaking to people who are older than you or of a
higher rank than you such as in the company, army and other institutions. However, people
generally use the polite form in many social settings regardless of one's age. Initially, it
would be best to stick to the polite form when learning Korean, as this would be the
predominant form of speaking to people in many social environments. However, if you
attend school or other similar institutions where you'd make friends and the environment is
more casual, it might be more appropriate to use the informal form.
Below are the two tables showing the polite form of the written and spoken forms of Korean. Please
note that the words in bold indicate which of the two negatives are more common in each form, i.e.
빠르지 않습니다 is more commonly used than 안 빠릅니다 in the written form whereas 안 빨라
요 is more commonly used than 빠르지 않아요 in the spoken form.
Polite
Written
Form
Present Past
Positive 빠릅니다 빨랐습니다
Negative 빠르지 않습니다
안 빠릅니다
빠르지 않았습니다
안 빨랐습니다
Polite
Spoken
Form
Present Past
Positive 빨라요 빨랐어요
Negative 빠르지 않아요
안 빨라요
빠르지 않았어요
안 빨랐어요
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